Print

[olah]

can you tell me the good and bad on the thompson drive... I heard it reads all media's.  But i'm not sure.  Just want to clear it up.

[xboxistheshiznit]

thompsons only read dvds, some will read cd-rws, though mine doesnt. there are no pros to a thompson drive what so ever.

[Lbtg43]

i guess its only pro would be... its cheap?

but the samsung616 is $31 w/o s&h.....

[rzyzzy]

I really don't understand all the 'dissin on the Thompson drive -
I currently own one, and have owned several in the past.  
My experience with them -
Every one I tried would read *all* cd-rw if burned properly ( read the tutorials)
Every one I've tried will read *all* dvd-r if burned properly ( again, read the tutorials)
Every one I've tried reads *all* originals, unless they're scratched or damaged.

Disadvantages -
Iffy reliability - *BUT* the other brands of drives haven't been out as long as the Thompsons, and may not be any better.  To the best of my knowledge *all* release day Xboxes had Thompsons.  While you may hear people state things like "I've never seen a bad Samsung drive - be aware, there aren't nearly as many Samsungs out there as Thompson drives, and the Samsung drives haven't been in service as long as the Thompsons.  They may be better, but they could also start failing in droves in a few months, and until *time* proves they're more reliable I wouldn't pay extra for one.

There are some folks who say they can read cdr's with Samsungs - there are also folks who say they *can't* read cdr's with Samsungs -

Bottom line?

Why pay $100 for a drive that can read cdr games, when for $151 SHIPPED you can buy a Pioneer DVD burner that will allow you to burn almost *all* xbox games  - and they'll work in any Xbox.  By the way - there are only a few xbox games that even fit on cdr ( and most of those are pretty lame) imho.

[Exobex]

!--QuoteBegin-rzyzzy+Jun 25 2003, 03:58 AM-->

QUOTE (rzyzzy @ Jun 25 2003, 03:58 AM)

I really don't understand all the 'dissin on the Thompson drive - I currently own one, and have owned several in the past.   My experience with them - Every one I tried would read *all* cd-rw if burned properly ( read the tutorials) Every one I've tried will read *all* dvd-r if burned properly ( again, read the tutorials) Every one I've tried reads *all* originals, unless they're scratched or damaged. Disadvantages - Iffy reliability - *BUT* the other brands of drives haven't been out as long as the Thompsons, and may not be any better.  To the best of my knowledge *all* release day Xboxes had Thompsons.  While you may hear people state things like "I've never seen a bad Samsung drive - be aware, there aren't nearly as many Samsungs out there as Thompson drives, and the Samsung drives haven't been in service as long as the Thompsons.  They may be better, but they could also start failing in droves in a few months, and until *time* proves they're more reliable I wouldn't pay extra for one. There are some folks who say they can read cdr's with Samsungs - there are also folks who say they *can't* read cdr's with Samsungs - Bottom line? Why pay $100 for a drive that can read cdr games, when for $151 SHIPPED you can buy a Pioneer DVD burner that will allow you to burn almost *all* xbox games  - and they'll work in any Xbox.  By the way - there are only a few xbox games that even fit on cdr ( and most of those are pretty lame) imho.

How come you've gone through so many, if they're that reliable?

Also, if you've had that many, surely you'd know how to spell Thomson by now?

[rzyzzy]

QUOTE

How come you've gone through so many, if they're that reliable? huh.gif

Because I've chipped many Xboxes , young smartass....

QUOTE

Also, if you've had that many, surely you'd know how to spell Thomson by now? laugh.gif

Actually, see the above - I've begun mis-spelling thingz in my posts because of exposure to solder stank.  Besides - I don't want to in-timmy-date those with low IQ's.

[Voltron]

I have the Thompson drive and it was kinda hard to find a cd-rw that would work. All the tutorials say to burn at 2x but that didn't work.  I tryed a few different 2x/4x cd-rw disks. Then just for the heck of it I tryed an ultra speed cd-rw. The slowest I could burn at was 10x. I erased it and burned it 2 other times and every time worked perfectly.

[olah]

funny that i've had my samsung DVD drive in my computer for a while.  It's a backup drive.  but i do use it.  I"m not thinking of changing it with the xbox anytime though.  I just wanted to make sure that the thompson drive can do this or that.  which i'll prolly just end up gettin a DVD burner..

Thanks guys

[mirx999]

thompsons read dvd+r, too

[Dark_Legends]

QUOTE (rzyzzy @ Jun 25 2003, 04:58 AM)

I really don't understand all the 'dissin on the Thompson drive - I currently own one, and have owned several in the past.   My experience with them - Every one I tried would read *all* cd-rw if burned properly ( read the tutorials) Every one I've tried will read *all* dvd-r if burned properly ( again, read the tutorials) Every one I've tried reads *all* originals, unless they're scratched or damaged.

Ok, I disagree with you, takling about it read ALL CDRW discs you've ever tried.

Yes, It may, "If you know how to burn the properly, read the tutorials.."  My problem with that, is I have burned a CDRW JUST like you speak of, from these tutorials, and I still can't get them to burn properly.  Which, lead me to actually think, if the cd rw you use (not the disk, but the burner) is actually the problem?  Because you seem to have no problem, but others do..What kind of CD Burner do you got?

BTW, for these flashing discs, CAn i just use 2 DVD Disks instead, of CDRW, and it flash ok?

Thanks

[olah]

you can use dvd-rw or CD-rw.

[boxorox]

Yes, Thomsons are picky, but it's mostly in the burn.  If you can't burn it correctly, give up now!  Every CD-RW I've tried has worked with exception of Sony.  
Including: Imation, TDK, Maxell, Generic(not even labelled...flea market), Memorex, Memorex Ultra, Memorex(3years old found in desk drawer).
My prob is...How do you get a 3.5GB game backed up onto a 750MB CD-RW?

[boxorox]

I forgot.
I use a newer Sony CDr/rw burner.  Funny thing is I can't get Sony CDRWs to read.

[C_Ripper]

I have a Thomson and haven't had a problem with anything but CD-R... so I don't use them. CD-RW's are the same price as CD-R's so it's really a non-issue... Plus any DVD+R media I throw at it works just fine. I don't consider myself cursed because I have a Thomson drive. I'm not able to do anything less than people w/ Samsung or Philips drives. people need to chill...

[Flagg3]

All of the boxes I have ever had used Thompson drives and they never had any problems, but they are finicky about media.  

For what it's worth I have never had any problems reading original discs or Maxell CD-RW discs burned at 4x on any Thompson drive.

Having said that I just recently picked up a 1.2 and was so excited when I found a Samsung and I was able to actually use a regular CD-R burned at full speed!  Don't know about reliablity, but it appears that most new boxes use the Samsungs so if you really want one you can pick up a 1.2 Xbox for $150 ($179-$30 mail-in rebate at FYE) and most likely get a Samsung and a 20gb hd with it.

Flagg